Intermission 2: Princess Camille and the Royal Decree

Heroes.

Existences that are far beyond common sense.

Possessing strength that surpasses a thousand men.

Possessing wits that surpass their generation.

Blessed by the gods through their oracles.

This is what the existences called "Heroes" are.

That's what was taught to every single living human of this world.

Not a single being knows anything about heroes.

I, too, am no exception.

"Princess, it is time."

A somewhat rough voice came from the other side of the door after a soft knock.

I closed the book I was reading and tidied myself in front of the mirror. Wavy long blonde hair, willful sky blue eyes, small pink lips surrounded by porcelain white skin. There's nothing wrong with my visage.

I gracefully walked towards the door where two maids opened it gently. On the other side, a tall man wearing full body armor was kneeling on one knee. His right arm was placed on his left chest, a sign of courtesy towards royalty.

His semi-long black hair was left alone giving him a wild feel. When matched with his short stubble and his obsidian eyes, he really looks like a fine gentleman in his twenties.

"Stand, Bermond."

I gave a command to him as a royalty would. In response to my words, he bowed lightly and stood up. The knight, Bermond Griel Bloodpact, was the acting war marshal of the kingdom's cavalry and a master of both the lance and sword.

Despite his age not having passed his thirties, he was already considered the strongest knight in the whole kingdom. As to why a strong knight like him was kneeling in front of me, it was because he was acting as my personal guard.

"Princess Camille, his Majesty the King is already waiting for your arrival."

He spoke fluently in a deep baritone voice while still looking downwards. I shrugged my shoulders in response and started walking down the hallway. Our pace wasn't fast enough to be called running but it also wasn't as leisurely as walking.

At the end of the long corridor, large imposing double doors full of relief and engraving came to view. The two guards standing at both sides of the door stood in attention upon seeing me approach.

The large door silently swung open with not as much as a squeak. What greeted me was a long red carpet about two spans wide set from the entrance up to just below a slightly elevated throne. Dozens of fully armored knights stood in attention on both sides of the carpet.

Nobles of different ranks could be seen on the other side of the wall of knights. Various expressions were seen on their faces.

[The third princess, Camille Quaser Kabir has arrived!]

A loud voice that cannot be determined whether male or female announced my arrival. In respect, I walked down the red carpet up to just about far enough to the throne where my voice could be heard. Bermond who was behind me kneeled down a slight distance away.

I too kneeled down in the presence of the King, my father, himself, despite wearing a bubbly and frilly dress.

"At ease."

My father said in a voice that doesn't show his age. I bowed lightly and stood up, keeping my head lowered until allowed to.

"Raise your head."

"Thank you for your kindness."

I followed as he said and raised my lowered head. However, I kept my sight on the throne instead of on my father. Staring at the eyes of the king himself can be punished with death in the worst cases.

The solemn silence permeated the whole throne room. I patiently waited for his next words while anticipating what he was about to say.

"Camille."

"Yes, your majesty."

I can feel his powerful gaze upon me turning sharper by the minute. Then, he finally spoke.

"In accordance with the laws of the kingdom, I hereby decree that you are now an Oracle of the Goddess of War Helen before you are a princess. Do as the Gods' will."

"I thank you for your kindness, your Majesty."

I replied just as I practiced, not giving out what I was feeling inside. His majesty nodded in affirmation towards my answer.

"Marshal Bermond Griel Bloodpact. I hereby raise your rank to General and assign you the mission of protecting Camille. Protect her with your life."

"As you wish. This life is yours to take, your majesty."

Bermond replied humbly while still kneeling. The king nodded, satisfied with his answer.

"In three days, the whole kingdom will celebrate this occasion. I'm expecting your attendance as the Oracle of the Goddess of War, Camille."

"I will not fail your expectations, your majesty."

I bowed my head once more.

"Very well, you are dismissed."

At his cue, we both nodded and slowly went out of the throne room.

***

"Is this really fine?"

Bermond suddenly asked.

"… I'm fine. And this is way much better."

I said without lifting my head from the book I was reading. Having read my intentions, he tried voicing them.

"You mean how you are now away from the power struggle? Even if you are the sixth in line, there are still many nobles pushing for you as a queen you know? Are you really fine with betraying their expectations?"

Irritation suddenly welled inside me. "Expectations"? Don't tell me something like that. I closed the book I was reading forcefully. Then, I glared at the squarish face of the man in front of me.

"I don't care if they expect something from me or if I have betrayed that expectation. I am not an Idol that will do nothing but be worshipped. I am who I am and will do what I want to do. Nobody has the right to command me on what to do. And more so now."

I put up my most intimidating face but still, this man was unperturbed. My bloodlust probably felt just like a cool breeze to him who have waltzed through over a dozen of battlefields full of the stench of death.

"You may be safe for now. But where you are headed to have a much higher threat to your life you know? Also, if you gain too many merits as an Oracle, you may get targeted again by the prince's factions. It may be much worse than before even."

He voiced his worries once more. However, it didn't even manage to shake my decision by an inch.

"I told you, I don't care. If my life is in danger here or there, then rather than staying still and waiting for it, I prefer fighting through all of it. There's never been a choice between standing still and moving forward for me as standing still isn't even an option."

To my willful answer, Bermond let out a long sigh.

I bet being my personal guard for almost 5 years finally made him know my quirks. And one of those was that once I decided to do something, I neither fall back nor falter until I achieved it.

I sympathize with his hardships but it was his job so I have literally no say in the matter.

After a short silence, determining that there was nothing left to say, I returned to the book I was reading.

However, at that moment, a knock came from the door.

"Camille, it is me."

A low-pitched feminine voice echoed from the other side of the door. I signaled toward Bermond and he quickly opened the door.

There stood a female knight. Her long straight blonde hair, similar to mine, was tied into a ponytail so as to not hinder her movements. Her emerald green eyes stared straight at me.

"Aneue!"

I quickly ran and jumped into her embrace. As expected of a knight, she managed to catch me without even staggering.

This female knight was the commander of the Royal Order of Knights and consequently the first princess of the kingdom, and my half-sister, Evergreen Melody Kabir. As the first princess, she was one who once possessed the strongest backers next to the crown prince but once she decided to be a knight, all her claims to the throne vanished completely.

She was also the only one who wholeheartedly supported my plan on fighting as an Oracle.

"Aneue, it has been so long."

"Ahh. You really have grown up. The last time I saw you was three years ago right? Time sure flies."

She said while giving her sweetest smile. I slowly parted from the hug after some time and then properly greeted her on her safe return.

"Welcome back, aneue. I'm glad that you returned safely from your mission."

"Ahh. I'm back. But as soon as I got back, I heard that you are leaving. Looks like we won't be meeting anymore after that too. This may be the will of the Gods telling me to be independent at long last."

She smiled bitterly after saying so. I felt my chest tightening after seeing her lonely expression. Thinking back, just as I treated her as my only ally, she too treated me as her only sister, her only sibling, and pampered me as much as she can.

Honestly, parting from aneue was the hardest part of my decision to act as an oracle. If I could just request for her to be my guard too, then I would gladly do so. But as the captain of the order, she cannot leave her duties that easily. That's why she can't come with me.

As we won't be seeing each other for a long time, we chatted to our heart's content. During the chat, the topic suddenly shifted after I said the name of the village I was told to go through the oracle of the Gods.

"Mujyara? The one at the south end? I hear it was attacked by demons last week but they managed to defend it successfully. The request for additional sentry for guarding the border reached me too."

"It was attacked…? How many demons managed to slip past the barrier?"

This is the first time I heard about this. But still, the barrier of the village should still be functioning perfectly…

"Based on the reports, there are 10,000 demons that attacked. The majority of them were just low-class demons but there were quite a few middle-class demons mixed in too."

… That's quite a large army even for demons. Still 10,000? And they still managed to defend the village despite that? If I recall, the population of the village ranges around 500 so they managed to fight an enemy 20 times their number.

"The report also mentioned that the defense of the village was mostly done by four villagers. If I recall correctly, they are 2 girls, 1 woman, and 1 boy. The boy was also the hot topic here in the capital as the latest demon hunter. I think his name is…"

"Nazo… Right?"

"Ahh. That's right. He was the one who claimed to have dealt with the Elder Treant alone. A man equaling an army. But apparently, he isn't a Hero… But still, it's quite rare for you to be this informed."

I chuckled upon seeing aneue's surprised face. Then, with a slightly impish smile, I told her one thing that I haven't told anyone as of yet.

"Actually, the particular man that was mentioned within the oracle I received… Was that man named Nazo."

I turned my head towards the window, staring at the far end of the blue sky. Smiling towards the future that was yet to come.

However, I didn't know. That in the far-off future, our paths would cross each other through means that I didn't expect.

It was 13 days then before the fateful event that would lock the future of Nazo and his party.